The days leading up to January 29 were interesting. Since Thanksgiving of 2017 he was struggling with something on and off again. He spent Thanksgiving throwing up every 30 minutes and then was back to normal, then we noticed that one of his pupils no longer reacted to light. This weird dilation problem required a specialist because his initial visit with the vet revealed zero issues with his eye itself. Blood vessels, retina, &etc. were all well. After a couple of weeks he refused to eat. Five days into this issue we revisited the vet. After blood work revealed extremely high liver levels we came home with nausea and anti-inflammatory medicine, which seemed to work. He ate a meal and kept it down! However, the risk we knew we were taking came true: the meds were only masking his symptoms and buying us more time. After the last day of his medication, he tanked. The night before we put him down was horrible. At 2 am he began throwing up every 20 to 30 minutes. He was extremely restless and stumbled around the house (while drooling everywhere), wanting to be let outside, refusing to come in even though it was freezing outside. I'm pretty sure he was simply trying to find a place to die. The only time he calmed down was when I laid down with him, but even then he had a hard time being still.
The entire process was heartbreaking.
The hardest part was calling the vet with our decision and waiting for her call back (upon which she readily agreed with us, especially after her evaluation - over the course of a few days he lost 14 pounds and his yellowed self revealed liver failure). We have no idea why his liver failed - if he got into something or if he had cancer or whatever - but his misery was evident.
It was easier to say good-bye that morning knowing that he couldn't make it a few steps without stumbling, that his lost appetite, and extreme weight loss were all leading to an inevitable fate. He was only 5 and we did not feel ready to say good-bye, we had hoped for many more years with him.
He was such a good dog! As evidenced by the pictures... My daughters loved dressing him up. He thought he was a lap dog. He was an excellent cuddle bug. He was energetic and extremely strong. He watched over the girls so well when they went outside to play, he just followed them around and I had no worries when he was with them. He was obedient and loving. He loved to lick (we warned people that we had a dog who couldn't control his licker). We nicknamed him "crotch dog" because he knew that by putting his head there, he would get your attention. He was a crazy swimmer. He splashed so much and would try to catch the drops! Oh my word, I laugh just thinking about his swimming antics. He was a September baby, just like Brielle, she loved sharing birthday's with him. I wrote about him quite frequently:
If those posts aren't enough, I hope you can tell from the pictures how much we loved him...
Some more of my favorite pictures:
We loved him enough to say good-bye. Remarkably Brielle handled it much better than we thought she would. She shed some tears and asked a lot of questions. Many of them we were unable to answer. Finally Kyle asked her, "Brielle do you trust God?"
"Yes."
"Then you have to trust that He has it in His control. He will take care of Quigley."
"Oh, okay!"
And then she was fine. To have that kind of child-like trust. God is in control of His creation - even Quigley - and that brought us comfort.
As the days and weeks have passed us by it has been strange removing the giant kennel, his dish, his leash, his toys, and even a picture Brielle drew and hung in his kennel for him to enjoy while he was in there. The day we said good-by wasn't easy, but we have been fine and will continue to be so. We loved him and he was part of our family, but we also understand his time had come and it was a comfort knowing his suffering was over. In fact, the days following his death were actually a relief for that reason.
Still, I think back to that conversation with our daughter about life, death, and God. That is my favorite part of this story. She had to go through something tough in order to grasp what it meant to trust that God is in control. And I pray that whatever she faces she finds her strength in God and continues to trust Him - no matter what.
The entire process was heartbreaking.
The hardest part was calling the vet with our decision and waiting for her call back (upon which she readily agreed with us, especially after her evaluation - over the course of a few days he lost 14 pounds and his yellowed self revealed liver failure). We have no idea why his liver failed - if he got into something or if he had cancer or whatever - but his misery was evident.
It was easier to say good-bye that morning knowing that he couldn't make it a few steps without stumbling, that his lost appetite, and extreme weight loss were all leading to an inevitable fate. He was only 5 and we did not feel ready to say good-bye, we had hoped for many more years with him.
He was such a good dog! As evidenced by the pictures... My daughters loved dressing him up. He thought he was a lap dog. He was an excellent cuddle bug. He was energetic and extremely strong. He watched over the girls so well when they went outside to play, he just followed them around and I had no worries when he was with them. He was obedient and loving. He loved to lick (we warned people that we had a dog who couldn't control his licker). We nicknamed him "crotch dog" because he knew that by putting his head there, he would get your attention. He was a crazy swimmer. He splashed so much and would try to catch the drops! Oh my word, I laugh just thinking about his swimming antics. He was a September baby, just like Brielle, she loved sharing birthday's with him. I wrote about him quite frequently:
- My CrAaAaAAAzy Quigley
- Crazy Quigley, Part 2
- Joys of Owning a Pet
- More on Crazy Quigley
- Gratitude Photo Challenge
- The Lone Pea Plant vs. Crazy Quigley
- When she showed Quigley her treasure from the Bahamas...
If those posts aren't enough, I hope you can tell from the pictures how much we loved him...
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| Eleanna used him as a pillow and he was totally okay with it. |
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| He was so sick for so long and Brielle agonized over him, I am so glad I captured this adorable moment. |
Some more of my favorite pictures:
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| Mom and dad left him behind! |
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| I was taking pictures of Brielle and he had to be in the middle of it all. |
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| One of my ALL TIME FAVORITES. |
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| The day we said good-bye. |
"Yes."
"Then you have to trust that He has it in His control. He will take care of Quigley."
"Oh, okay!"
And then she was fine. To have that kind of child-like trust. God is in control of His creation - even Quigley - and that brought us comfort.
As the days and weeks have passed us by it has been strange removing the giant kennel, his dish, his leash, his toys, and even a picture Brielle drew and hung in his kennel for him to enjoy while he was in there. The day we said good-by wasn't easy, but we have been fine and will continue to be so. We loved him and he was part of our family, but we also understand his time had come and it was a comfort knowing his suffering was over. In fact, the days following his death were actually a relief for that reason.
Still, I think back to that conversation with our daughter about life, death, and God. That is my favorite part of this story. She had to go through something tough in order to grasp what it meant to trust that God is in control. And I pray that whatever she faces she finds her strength in God and continues to trust Him - no matter what.
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